Vladimir Putin has ordered a halt to all Russian military actions in Ukraine until the end of the Easter holiday.
The truce will come into effect at 6pm local time (4pm BST) today and end at midnight on Sunday (10pm BST). Putin – whose invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has led to the deaths of thousands of civilians – said he hoped the Ukrainian side will follow Russia’s example and ‘stop the fighting’, according to Russian state media. He said: “Guided by humanitarian considerations, today from 6pm to midnight from Sunday to Monday, the Russian side declares an Easter truce. I order all military actions to be stopped for this period.
But he also warned that Russia would quickly respond to anything it deemed to be a ‘provocation’, adding: “At the same time, our troops must be ready to repel possible violations of the truce and provocations from the enemy, any of its aggressive actions.”
It comes after Donald Trump threatened that the US might “take a pass” on peace negotiations to end the war in Ukraine if talks prove too difficult. The US president’s easing off on diplomatic efforts to end the war follows the expiry of the White House’s previous 30-day ceasefire deal to stop Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.
Trump told reporters: “Now, if for some reason, one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we’re just going to say: ‘You’re foolish. You are fools, you horrible people’. And we’re going to just take a pass. But hopefully, we won’t have to do that.”
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